Thursday 25 Oct 2018
Vital upgrade work for Highland main line
- Region & Route:
- Scotland’s Railway: Scotland
Network Rail engineers will be delivering a multi-million-pound programme of enhancement and maintenance projects on the Highland main line over the next five weekends.
The Highland Main Line Improvement Project team will be remodelling and extending the tracks at Aviemore station, extending platforms at Pitlochry and carrying out signalling upgrade works.
Elsewhere on the line, sections of track will be renewed near Perth, rock stabilisation works will take place near Dunkeld and Blair Atholl and under-track drainage improvements will be made near Carrbridge.
In order to deliver these vital engineering works as safely and efficiently as possible, the line between Perth and Inverness will be closed on Sundays October 28, November 4, 11 and 18 and on Saturday, November 24, Sunday, November 25, and Monday, November 26.
The works also mean that there will be some restrictions to the car parking at Aviemore and Pitlochry stations on each of these weekends.
For more information about service alterations during this period, customers should check National Rail Enquiries, or their individual train operator’s website.
Donald Stevenson Network Rail senior programme manager for the Highland Main Line Improvement Project, said: “Combining the delivery of our upgrade, maintenance and renewal projects will reduce the impact of these important activities on customers and lineside communities.
“The completion of this phase of the Highland Main Line Improvement Project, combined with the arrival of new train fleet, will improve connectivity, travel choices and journey times on the line.
“The work to upgrade the Highland Main Line is part of the Scottish Government’s ongoing investment in Scotland’s railway and is another step towards building the best railway Scotland has ever had.”
A £57m Scottish Government-funded investment in the line linking Inverness to the Glasgow and Edinburgh, the Highland Main Line Improvement Project will help deliver an hourly service, with average journey times reduced by around 10 mins and enable potential improvements to the times of the first and last trains between Inverness and the Central Belt.
The signalling work will be delivered in tandem with platform extensions at Pitlochry and the extension of the double track section to the north at Aviemore station.
This phase of work on the Highland mainline is scheduled to be completed in March 2019.
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office - Nick King
Media relations manager (Scotland)
0141 555 4108 / 07515 617073
nick.king3@networkrail.co.uk
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